Messages from our Rabbi

Shabbat Hukat
9 Tammuz 5785
July 4-5, 2025

Dear Friends,

Today is Independence Day–a day to celebrate Freedom. Yet, for many of us our hearts are heavy.

Yesterday we learned of the murder of Morgan Hill resident, 18 year old Marissa DiNapoli. May her friends and family find comfort and may the murderer be brought to justice.

A few days ago, we learned of the death of Karen Diamond who was injured in the antisemitic attack in Boulder, CO last month.

And yesterday, we learned that our national elected leaders voted to pass a Bill which is an affront to Jewish values to protect the stranger, the widow, and the orphan. 

Nationally, today is a day to celebrate the Independence of our Nation. For some, this may be a day of celebration. For others, it is hard to celebrate when so many are facing threats to their personal safety. 

This song by Batya Levine expresses my hopes and prayers. “We Rise”

From my colleague, Rabbi Peter Stein:

“As we approach Independence Day, I turn once again to Frederick Douglas's challenge, given in his address "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"  "I [speak] with a sad sense of the disparity between us...the blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common.  The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence...is shared by you, not by me.  This Fourth of July is yours, not mine..."

As Jews, we straddle so many different identities and needs... I have always been conscious of the central Jewish values about protecting those who are vulnerable: immigrants, the poor, those who are LGBTQ, disenfranchised racial populations...The list goes on.

In this week's Torah portion, Chukat, which is found well into the book of Numbers, we read about the death of Aaron.  The midrash is intrigued by the different descriptions in the mourning for Aaron and the mourning for Moses (when he dies at the end of Deuteronomy).  For Aaron, it says "all the house of Israel wailed for him" while for Moses, it says "the Israelites wailed for him".  

Aaron's great legacy is that he was a peacemaker.  Specifically, he did not "restrict his activities to establishing peace between God and people but strove to establish peace between one person and another."  

Jewish life is filled with all sorts of rituals, prayers, and other "religious" acts.  Fundamentally, though, Judaism teaches us that our conduct must answer the needs of our fellow human beings.  It's what happens outside the four walls of our synagogues that is essential.  It's what happens after we finish reading the prayerbook that matters the most.

This is the image I am holding in this moment.  How can we work to ensure that this Fourth of July will become the foundation for justice and equality for every one who lives here?  

In the early rabbinic text known as Pirke Avot, Rabbi Hillel taught: Be like the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace...loving all humankind and drawing them close to the Torah."  

That last part is profound.  It's not a call to proselytize, rather it is a challenge that we work hard to ensure that we never stop seeing (and answering) the needs of all our fellow human beings, so that one day, Douglas's vision will be answered, and the Fourth of July will be a celebration for one and all.”

Shabbat Shalom and prayers for a safe and meaningful 4th of July,
Rabbi Dantowitz